


The Sleeping Prince Rusts

by A_Plethora_Of_Peters



Series: The Inherent Romanticism of Dragons [11]
Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Emotional Manipulation, Fairy Tale Curses, Gen, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Sleeping Beauty Elements, mild body horror, yes Stranger is about Brian being rejected
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:46:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24797155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Plethora_Of_Peters/pseuds/A_Plethora_Of_Peters
Summary: When Brian was born, his parents, the King and Queen of Aufhocker, invited 7 witches to the celebration.
Series: The Inherent Romanticism of Dragons [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1832185
Comments: 11
Kudos: 124





	The Sleeping Prince Rusts

**Author's Note:**

> It's Brian's turn to have a scene in the Fantasy AU! 
> 
> Some of his curses are adapted from Brian's state of being in canon while others are based off of fairy tales.
> 
> Also, yes I had to reference Stranger in regards to Brian, don't @ me.
> 
> Comments are loved and appreciated!

When Brian was born, his parents, the King and Queen of Aufhocker, invited 7 witches to the celebration. There was tons of delicious food and drink to be had, and each of the witches had a beautiful matching set of golden dishes and goblets to eat and drink from. 

When everyone had their fill of the feast, one by one the witches came up to bestow their blessings upon the baby boy.

"He shall be as beautiful as the dawn." The first said before turning into a butterfly and leaving.

"He will be as graceful as a flower seed on the breeze." The second said before turning into a lizard and leaving.

"He will be as gentle in demeanor as a lamb." The third said before turning into an ewe and leaving.

"He will sing as beautifully as a nightingale." The fourth said before turning into a dove and leaving.

"He will play music as was never heard on earth." The fifth said before turning into a dog and leaving.

"He will be as wise as the most learned scholars." The sixth said before turning into a cat and leaving.

The seventh smiled down at the baby, her canines long and sharp as she declared. "Your son will attract the sorrows of the world and change them into joy." With her blessing cast, she changed into a bat and left as well.

That last "blessing" would prove to be a curse in disguise.

Yes, people that met, or even saw Brian at a distance, would be relieved of their sorrows. Something about his mere presence could soothe heartache, lift spirits, and make the most dour of people smile. A smile from him, even as a baby, could melt the hardest of hearts, a soft gurgle as he slowly figured out how to talk would bring the cruelest men to their knees in awe of him. The effects of being around him weren't permanent, as once removed from his presence, the sadness, pain, and cruelty would return, but those feelings would be weakened, dulled, afterwards.

As the Royals swiftly found out, however, any curses that were cast on anyone in the court happened to him instead, no matter how petty the curse was, or who the actual target was. A lady in waiting was angry at her spouse for cheating on her, for example, and so she had a curse cast that whenever her name was spoken by anyone in the castle, her spouse would sneeze. Instead it was baby Brian that would sneeze uncontrollably when she was mentioned.

They were relieved that platonic kisses from anyone were usually enough to break whatever curse he had caught recently. The simpler ones could be broken by his nursemaid or a random servant kissing his cheek or forehead. The more complex ones he had to be kissed by the King or Queen to break them.

Things settled into an almost routine for the next 5 years of his life: Brian would be going about his business, accidentally get cursed, someone would kiss him to break the curse, the curse would break, lather, rinse, repeat.

And then one day Brian was no longer at his home with his familiar nannies, or his parents.

This new place was… colder. More distant. He was left alone far more often. He was given anything and everything he wanted, but he couldn't leave the castle. 

His uncle, King Cole of New Constantinople, told him that his parents had died and that he had taken Brian in to protect him from people that would exploit his curses. That he was the only blood Uncle had left and that he would be so lost without him. That Brian was his heir now and so had to stay at the castle to be trained for the role.

So Brian was content to stay in the castle in between his lessons. There were plenty of secret passages to explore. Many books in the castle's expansive library to read. Secrets to learn by listening to the servants.

That's how he learns that every fire is controlled by a fire spirit. His room has no fireplace so they cannot visit him. It makes him sad until he figures that maybe it's for the best. He's not that good of company and he might make them sad like the servants or angry like Uncle.

He was content with his lot.

For a while.

When he was 10, he started questioning things. 

He wanted to leave the castle, visit the village whose rooftops he could see from his tower room. He wanted to see and talk to the people he would one day rule over. Why couldn't he go with a troop of armed guards protecting him? Why was he to rule Constantinople anyways? What had happened to his parent's kingdom after he had left it? He didn't have any older or younger siblings that he could recall. Who was ruling there now? Could he visit there too?

Uncle had gotten angry at him for his endless questions and had ~~ordered~~ sent him to his room without supper. That night, he had cried himself to sleep, curled around his toy bunny Rowan. He woke up the next dawn, screaming in pain as his body was _twisted_ and _changed_ and made _not right_. When the pain stopped, he stared at himself in horror.

He was made of metal. Brass and copper and steel making up everything about him. He could feel gears and pistons clicking and moving in his chest, moving even when he held his breath. Even his hair was now metal, made up of wires so thin and fine that it was almost like real hair. The only part that he could feel was human still was his tiny heart, fluttering in his now metal chest like a trapped bird trying to escape a cage.

Uncle was comforting, telling him that one noble had tried cursing another and the curse hit him instead. It could only be broken by True Love's Kiss. Until Brian found his True Love, he was forced to change into flesh and blood at sunset and then back into metal at sunrise.

Not long after that, a witch tried cursing his Uncle, so Brian ended up with that curse too. This curse affected him in both forms, causing his lips to be sliced open and bleed purple poison anytime he lied. Of course the curse saw empty platitudes ("I'm fine! I'm okay!") and excuses ("I have music practice anyway!") as lies as well. That was hardly Brian's fault though.

At 13, he got a curse that changed his personality when someone said anything about "Ends Justifying Means" or "Means Justifying Ends" within earshot of him. 

Means Justify Ends, was his normal, kind, patient, self. Ends Justify Means was rude, impatient, and cruel. He would sneer at the servants, mocking them relentlessly and not caring if he made them cry. They always forgave him when he apologized after switching back. Fortunately this curse was less frequently activated and was easily reverted once it was activated.

When he was 16, Brian fell in love.

Sir Koschei was 17, a part of the night watch, and treated Brian kindly when he found the cursed Prince wandering the castle late at night. Brian hoped that their love would be able to break his transformation curse. One day, however, despite Brian's insistence that he leave at dawn as always, Koschei stayed instead and was horrified at what happened to him at dawn. 

( ~~"I can't believe you hid this from me!"~~

~~"I-I didn't mean-!"~~

~~"Look at the poison on your lips! You did mean to hide it from me!"~~

~~"I only meant to make you happy-"~~

~~"I've had enough of your deceit! Fitting then that you turn into this metal demon!"~~

~~"Koschei please-"~~

~~"I was a fool to think that we were ever meant to be!"~~ )

"I warned you that your relationship with that boy would end badly." Uncle sighed, gently touching Brian's cheek as he just blankly stared at the floor, Koschei's words ringing over and over in his ears.

~~Metal demon. Metal demon. Metal demon.~~

"I think I know just the thing to help." Uncle left him alone and came back with a fragment of a mirror in a gloved hand. He put it carefully in Brian's metal hand and said. "Crush this, my boy, and take its curse into yourself. It will dull the pain." Brian did as he was asked and shivered, exhaling a misty breath as he got colder and colder. Frost glittered on his metal skin and clung to his clothes.

The Frozen Heart only was triggered when he was repressing his emotions, but it did help him process his grief and heartbreak, forcing him to confront how he felt or risk freezing solid.

At 20, he spent a wonderful year in Camelot, the capital of the Galfridian Kingdom as part of his Uncle's delegation to the kingdom. 

The Pendragons were indeed as beautiful as they were wise and kind, though they were also a bit more weary than tales described them as. Arthur's son Mordred, who had been raised by the Saxons that had once warred with the Galfridians, and so greeted Brian the Saxon way with a kiss on the cheek. This broke a curse that compelled him to sing everything he said. After that the younger prince stayed with him and showed him around the castle during the daytime. Sir Gawain, a trusted knight to the Pendragons and Mordred's brother-at-arms, kissed his temple in a moment of comfort when he found a book in their castle library that had made him cry. This broke another curse that made walking around in shoes feel like he was walking on hot coals. The knight was very blasé about it but Brian could tell that he was relieved that he had helped the foreign Prince.

(There was a third curse broken during his time in Galfridian but that's a tale for another time, told by another knight...)

It was his 24th birthday when he was cursed to fall asleep and not wake up.

Brian was reading one of the new books that he had been given for his birthday when Uncle had come in, with a small box in hand.

"I have a gift and news for you, my boy." He said with a strange smile. Brian set aside the book as he opened the box and carefully pulled out a silver locket by its delicate chain. "I saw this and just had to get it for you! It's lovely isn't it?" 

Brian had to agree it was. It looked like a heart covered in knotwork and it shimmered in the sunlight coming in through his window so prettily. Uncle smiled and gestured for Brian to stand in front of him. Once Brian was, he slipped the locket around his throat and started doing up the clasp.

"You said that you have news as well?" Brian asked, staying still for him.

"Hmm? Oh yes. The rebellion will be here at the castle soon." Uncle casually said. "I intend to deal with them here." 

There's a _click_ from behind Brian as the clasp of the locket is closed. Brian starts to turn to face his Uncle questions on his lips. He groans instead and staggers sideways, a wave of exhaustion suddenly hitting him.

"Shhhh…" Uncle's bony hands are tight, tight, tight on his elbow and shoulder as he was guided over to his bed. "All you need to do for me now, my boy, is to fulfill your purpose." 

"Purpose?" Brian manages to say. Everything is so distant now. He's fighting what he now realizes is a sleeping curse. 

"It's why I took you from Aufhocker." He can see, even through the haze clouding his vision, that Uncle has a cruel smile. "Your primary curse is so useful, keeps any curses aimed at me away. I already had many physical defenses against attacks. I just needed magic defenses. And Carmilla was all too happy to put an additional curse or two on you to keep you under my thumb."

He touched Brian's cheek, a mockery of comfort, and said. "Now sleep. Snow's little rebellion will be here soon and I will win because anything her little witches will throw at me will hit you instead."

Brian struggled with all his might to stay awake, but the curse was far stronger than him.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


And so…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


He slept. 

**Author's Note:**

> Oh don't worry everyone, he's gonna wake up! It's just going to take some time is all... 83c


End file.
